Well, if you do, congratulations! If not, I’ll spare you the details and just get straight to it. Everyone who knows the meaning of the word anthropomorphic has usually seen this word in articles attached to games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Star Fox, and Spyro the Dragon. Long story short, anthropomorphic is a word used to describe a humanized version of an animal character who is capable of speech and human actions, and is given human features as well.

Well, every once in a while, you’ll find (more than not) female characters who have been given a very sensual and almost sexualized appearance. The main character who comes to mind is none other than the voluptuous treasure hunter, Rouge the Bat.

Rouge is a knock-out, and a bit of a surprise to those used to the “tamer” elements of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Rouge is given a very womanly figure and noticeably large breasts that actually jiggle when she moves, walks, or flies. Frankly, she’s my favorite character, as she exudes sexuality, confidence, and yes, even a very soft spot for none other than her rival, Knuckles the Echidna.

I ship the pairing. I SHIP IT LIKE FED-EX! And every time I see them, I’m like:

Ahem. Moving on, as I was saying, usually whenever you see characters portrayed in this way, they are usually always female. But what of the more masculine male characters who are designed to attract female audiences? I hate to say it, but they just do not exist. And I’m not talking about on a sexually arousing level either – I mean, bar none, they don’t exist. So, what is it that endears female gamers to characters such as Spyro, Sonic, and others? Well, for starters, these characters don’t have giant tits or huge ass, and aren’t disproportionately sized in any way, shape or form. In fact, if I had to say why I’m so endeared to Knuckles, it’s probably because I find his personalityattractive.

And there you have it. Even without being oversexualized, our favorite anthropomorphic characters are endearing to us because of their fun, varied personalities, and being able to connect with female gamers on some level, even romantically (case in point: I have a girlfriend of mine who absolutely would love to date someone with Sonic the Hedgehog’s personality, haha). It just goes to show that even as a guy, you don’t have to have the huge, hulking muscles of Ryu, Hayabusa, Wolverine, or others, to be deemed an attractive badass.

Believe me, finding this list was no easy task, but I managed it. So, let’s start with the basic ones:

Fox McCloud from Star Fox

I’m going to be honest: this guy is reminds me of Cid from Final Fantasy, and judging by how he dresses, at least in this picture, he also reminds me of Hwoarang from Tekken. He’s an ace pilot with a rough-speaking yet friendly demeanor, and has actually been given muscles and a more masculine form as his character progresses over the years. If you are the type to go for ace-fighter pilots with mohawks and guns, then he is your guy. I’m not sure (in fact, I’m fairly certain) that the character designer wasn’t thinking, “Let’s make this guy a babe to attract female players”, but I can ascertain that as time went on, his form was changed a bit to make him more physically appealing to the ladies.

Or, maybe it’s just my imagination.

Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echinda, and Sonic the Hedgehog

As far as the world of Sonic goes, these three are hands-down fan favorites. Shadow appeals to the players (both male and female) in that he’s got a tragic background, he seems cold and unforgiving, and, in a few rare cases, we see his kind side towards his former love interest, Maria Robotnik. This is what endears him to the audience (and, in some fanfiction, Rouge).

Knuckles the Echinda is a brash, hard-speaking red Echinda with dreadlocks that magically trap wind under them and allow him to fly (F*CK LOGIC, right?). He’s the guardian of the Master Emerald, which makes him an almost lonely character, as there’s no one else around to do it – though it seems his duties have been less intrusive in his social life with Sonic and the others in later games. Now, to me, personally, Knux has always been a hottie in the sense that he has a to-die for, bad boy smile and the personality to match it, plus a great sense of adventure and duty. I wouldn’t call him sexualized, so much as I would just attractive (and yes, Rouge thinks the same. Shut up).

Oh, Knux. *sigh*

Last in this trio is none other than the titular hero himself, Sonic the Hedgehog. Again, I’m not sure what makes him so sexualized, but Amy Rose most certainly sees it. He’s a free-loving, globe-trotting hedgehog always looking for fun, adventure, and a great time. He’s saved the world more times than anyone can imagine, and he is literally the fastest thing on this planet. What makes him so great is his sense of justice, his laid-back personality, and how he doesn’t let trivial matters get to him. But, when you piss him off, all hell breaks loose. To me, I always see Sonic as something of a normal eighteen-year-old guy in that aspect.

Like I said, I had a list, it just wasn’t very long. If anything, these characters aren’t so much sexualized as they are made attractive to female gamers because of their personality,which in turn, attracts female gamers (and even male gamers) to them physically as well.

It doesn’t make much sense unless you’re into furries…and you aren’t, are you…? Ah, well.

11 thoughts on “Sexy Male Animal Game Characters Don’t Exist?”

Haha thank you for bringing so much attention to my favorite franchise ever. Of all time. Also, for some reason, when you made the comment about male anthropomorphic characters not being able to have big breasts or asses, I immediately thought of Knuckles wearing a speedo. Then I cried a little.

Thanks for the fun read. It is a bit comical (and maybe offensive?) that developers often simply slap a pair of breasts onto a furry, or any female character for that matter, to amp up the character’s sexuality and then call it a day. Though physical attraction is an undeniable factor of one’s sex appeal, personality contributes much more to this. As the old adage goes: sex sells. Therefore, a shapely ass and busty chest offers a quick and easy solution rather than good writing and a well-imagined personality!